|
Dear Praying Friend: Greetings to you from here at Good News. I hope this finds you having had a good summer season with time for personal refreshment--mentally, physically, and spiritually. Recently I read something written by Dr. Dennis F. Kinlaw in his book, This Day With the Master, his wonderful new daily devotional book, which I predict will become a classic. Dr. Kinlaw writes: "As you pore over Scripture, you should keep seeking to understand those great biblical clues that will enable you to interpret life as a Christian. How much happier and how much more effective all of our lives would be if we were thoroughly biblical in our outlook and orientation. Scripture is where the key to the interpretation of reality really is. There are so many of us who do not understand life. There are so many of us who live in confusion and uncertainty. God wants his children to see, to discern, to perceive, and to know, and therefore to be able to lead and to help others. . . (The Bible) is the clue to reality given to us by the One who created reality. "I doubt that one can understand the basic realities of life--whether the nature of God, the nature of persons, the nature of marriage, the nature of the state, or the nature of one's vocation--until one knows Scripture very well. The thing that now commends Scripture to me is the fact that it is the most realistic of all books, it is safe for me to plum its depths and then to base my life on it." Those are profound words from a great Christian leader. (Dr. Kinlaw is a former professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, a former President of Asbury College, and is President and Founder of the Francis Asbury Society here in Wilmore.) Now, let me invite you to become aware of and join a massive prayer movement that begins this fall. I invite you to find a way to plug in to "40 DAYS USA: 40 Days of Corporate Prayer and Fasting for National Repentance." The target dates are September 24 - November 2, prior to our National Election. A dear friend and great leader in prayer, Dr. Ray Bringham, of San Marcos, CA, is a major part of this effort. Ray heads up the "World Prayer Summit." See that web site for more information. Go to: www.WorldPrayerSummit.org Also, you can go to: www.40daysUSA.org The vision is to have 20 million Christians in the USA and 200 million Christians worldwide united in 40 days of Prayer and Fasting for National Repentance in the U.S.A. The late Dr. Richard Halverson, former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, said once, "Nothing is clearer than that God alone is able to rescue our decaying society; nothing is clearer than that He waits for His people to reject materialism as a way of life; and that the crisis requires repentance from worldly waywardness and devotion to prayer." And as you pray, join us in thanking God for Good News' board of directors meetings here in Wilmore last week. This was a very important meeting as we look to the future and try to discern God's direction for our renewal efforts. Please pray for our board members who come from across the country to be a part of our national board. And please pray that our contribution income will be strong during August. We went into July with a significant deficit and had a good month of July. But we have considerable ground to gain. I believe the Lord will provide the resources we need. God bless you, friend. Thanks for caring and for your prayers on our behalf. Please feel free to share this with others in your various spheres of influence. Sincerely in Christ, Jim Heidinger
|